The integrity of freshly-appointed judge Wenzu Mintoff is “unquestioned”, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat insisted yesterday, as he defended the government’s decision to appoint a staunch Labour activist as a member of the judiciary.

Dr Muscat said Mr Justice Mintoff’s integrity was never in doubt and that he would rise above partisan politics as others had done in the past when they were appointed even after serving as Cabinet members.

“One criticism I did not hear [since the announcement] was that he lacked integrity. It is one thing he cannot be accused of. Politicians from both sides of the House have been appointed judges in the past and they have shown they are capable of rising above politics,” he said.

Dr Muscat was replying to questions by Times of Malta in the wake of a wave of scepticism expressed by practising lawyers who saw the appointment as blatantly partisan.

Mr Justice Mintoff was sworn in as a judge in the Superior Court in a ceremony at the Palace in Valletta, presided by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca in the presence of Dr Muscat, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici, Attorney General Peter Grech and Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri.

In brief comments following the ceremony, the former Labour MP pledged to work in his new role with “honesty, impartiality, fairness and a sense of equality”.

While expressing gratitude to the Cabinet for his nomination, Mr Justice Mintoff said these were the benchmarks of the legal system and he would adopt them as his credo.

He added that he was aware of his new responsibilities and that the people who entered the law courts were people “of flesh and blood”. He said every case “was not merely a number”.

The ceremony was attended by numerous relatives and friends, including his uncle, Peace Lab founder Fr Dionysius Mintoff. He thanked them for their constant support throughout his career.

Ms Coleiro Preca said members of the judiciary should always be impartial and independent, with these qualities being of utmost importance to any democratic system.

She said she had no doubt that Judge Mintoff would be fit for the role and would carry out his duties with honour.

Asked whether Mr Justice Mintoff fulfilled the criteria to be a judge, including the minimum of 12 years’ experience as a practising lawyer, Dr Bonnici said the new judge had previously headed the legal office in various entities and that this was considered as good enough in terms of experience.

Answering a question on whether the Commission for the Administration of Justice had been involved in the nomination, Dr Muscat said the government had followed the same practice that had been used in the past.

The government is not obliged to consult the commission before the appointment.

From left: Francesco Buhagiar, Fortunato Mizzi, Carmelo Schembri and Joseph Filletti.

Prominent, sometimes controversial, appointments to judiciary

Wenzu Mintoff’s appointment as judge yesterday may have raised eyebrows but his is not the first politically charged appointment to the judiciary. Here are some of the more prominent appointments:

Francesco Buhagiar, Malta’s second prime minister, actually appointed himself a judge back in 1924. Elected into office on the Popular Union ticket, one of two parties which eventually merged to form the Nationalist Party in 1927, Dr Buhagiar took his seat in the courts days after having resigned as prime minister. He had led two minority governments. A common joke in the 1920s was that he had made the appointment standing in front of a mirror.

Sir Luigi Camilleri, former Speaker of the House, was appointed magistrate in the early 1930s. He was later made judge and eventually ended his career as Chief Justice. He had been elected to the House of Representatives on the Partito Democratico Nazionalista ticket, an ancestor of today’s Nationalist Party.

George Borg and Anthony Montanaro Gauci, both members of the Strickland’s Constitutional Party, were also made judges. Dr Borg was eventually appointed Chief Justice in 1941. Dr Montanaro Gauci had served as Speaker of the House prior to his judicial nomination.

Carmelo Schembri and Fortunato Mizzi, two former Nationalist Education Ministers, were both appointed to the judiciary by Prime Minister George Borg Olivier in 1955.

Joseph Flores, former Speaker of the House, was appointed judge by Dom Mintoff’s Labour government. A former deputy leader of the PL, he had served as Speaker of the House in 1955.

Joseph Filletti and Lino Agius, both Labour Party candidates in the 1971 election, were appointed to the judiciary in 1977 and 1979, respectively.

Philip Sciberras, a Labour MP, was appointed judge by Labour in 1997.

Joe Cassar, a former Nationalist parliamentary secretary, is the most recent member of the judiciary to have come straight out of politics. He was made a magistrate in 1998.

Reporting by Ivan Martin.